Paper Number: EE-0009
Document Date: 10/01/1973
Author(s): David M. Dornbusch and Company
Subject Area(s):
Economic Analysis, Water Quality, Revealed Preference, Hedonic Methods, Property Values
Keywords: Economic Analysis, Water Quality, Revealed Preference, Hedonic Methods, Property Values
Abstract:
This study was undertaken to determine the current state-of-knowledge concerning the measurement of the potential benefit of water pollution control on property values, and to analyze the relationship between water quality parameters and property values at several sites where water pollution has been substantially reduced in recent years. Multiple-regression analysis and an interview technique were employed to study the relationship between residential and recreational property values and water quality components. Study sites were located on San Diego Bay and the Kanawha, Ohio, and Willamette Rivers. It was found that effective pollution abatement on badly polluted water bodies can increase the value of single-family homes situated on waterfront lots by 8 to 25 percent, and that these water quality improvements can affect property values up to 4000 feet away from the water's edge. It was also found that the measurable water quality parameters which have the greatest influence on property values are dissolved oxygen concentration, fecal coliform concentrations, clarity, visual pollutants (trash and debris), toxic chemicals, and pH.
A copy of this report is available at the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
This paper is part of the Environmental Economics Research Inventory.
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Benefit of Water Pollution Control on Property Values (1973) (PDF)(158 pp, 4 MB,
EE-0009, EPA-600/5-75-005)
This study was undertaken to determine the current state-of-knowledge (early 1970s) concerning the measurement of the potential benefit of water pollution control on property values, and to analyze the relationship between water quality parameters and property values at several sites where water pollution has been substantially reduced in recent years.